Washington, D.C. – The National Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce (NPRChamber), in partnership with CauseVox, today officially launched its crowdfunding campaign entitled, Help a Veteran LIVE the American Dream, located at HelpAVet.causevox.com.

The campaign will raise funds to help train veterans participating in its Hispanic Veteran Entrepreneur Training Program (HVET), the nation’s first and only program of its kind catering specifically to Hispanic veterans, which is scheduled to take place this Veteran’s Day, November 11th.  In addition, subsequent training and assistance will be targeted to Hispanic veterans of recent campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq who reside in Puerto Rico. 

 “I hear story after story about soldiers who return from serving in Afghanistan only to find they have no, or few opportunities for work or the means to start their own business,” said Israel Gutierrez, an Army veteran living in Puerto Rico.  “We love this island, and our country, and want to do anything we can to stay, but sometimes we can’t without a little help.  I just want an opportunity to take care of my family.”

Sadly, this story has been repeated for decades, as Puerto Rican and Hispanic troops are called to duty more frequently than many others throughout the armed services, and more frequently serve on the frontlines.  Puerto Rican veterans, in particular, have fewer economic opportunities at home than any other service member, given the prolonged recession on their island.

Yet, given the vast amount of technical training and ingrained dedication and persistence, these veterans have much to offer as well as the will and discipline to do what it takes to succeed, but often lack the civilian know-how to implement their ideas. 

NPRChamber created its training program to change these circumstances by offering more opportunities to veterans, so they can take care of their families and themselves, and also help to improve their communities. 

In order to cover the costs to train the deserving veteran participants, NPRChamber has launched its crowdfunding campaign at www.HelpAVet.CauseVox.com.  100% of the proceeds will be used to create and implement training programs for veterans.  In return for donations, NPRChamber and CauseVox are offering specially designed t-shirts and tickets to NPRChamber’s Veteran’s Day event honoring its veteran participants.